PDC – Where, What, When, How

Want to explore the possibilities of getting your Permaculture Design Course (PDC)? Here’s the where, what, when and how of getting your PDC through the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute.

LocationThe entire course takes place on the shores of the stunning Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala.

The first half will be held at IMAP, located in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. The second half of the course will be offered at Atitlan Organics, a permaculture farm in Tzununa, Guatemala. We’ll get there by taking a short boat ride across Lake Atitlan.

Dates

December 01 – 15, 2019

Instructors

Ronaldo (Rony) Lec is a permaculture teacher certified by Geoff Lawton, with a diploma issued by Bill Mollison. Rony, an Indigenous Mayan anthropologist from Guatemala, has been teaching and implementing permaculture systems throughout the world over the last 17 years, with a focus on food sovereignty for Indigenous communities in Mesoamerica. Co-founder of the Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP), he has delivered experiential courses and workshops on food security, the protection of biodiversity, and the establishment of seed banks at the family and community levels. He is one of the pioneers of the permaculture movement in Mesoamerica and has led the foundation of various Indigenous community organizations striving for self-sufficiency. Rony has been an invited guest at numerous universities, including Yale University, Hiram College, the College of the Menominee Nation, Ithaca College, Cornell University and the University of Colorado. He is the Coordinator of IMAP.

Shad Qudsi has over 13 years experience in organic and commercial gardening and farming. He is certified in Permaculture Design and has over 3 years experience in permaculture design consulting. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a double major in Applied Math and Psychology, Shad and his wife, Colleen, moved to Central America with only vague goals of farming at some point in the near future. In January of 2010, Shad and his wife bought and moved onto a very small farm located in the traditional Mayan village of Tzununa, on the north shore of Lake Atitlan. The farm, now called Atitlan Organics (www.atitlanorganics.com), is a small-scale, highly diversified, super low-input, direct-to-consumer, downright ninja farm. The farm mainly focuses on greens and dairy goats, a large edible and useful plant nursery, and training and education for the surrounding community. Now, Shad oversees four community gardens and is implementing two sustainable locally-run businesses based on the production and local marketing of clean organic food. Aside from all of this, Shad is an enthusiastic teacher who truly believes in the work he is doing.

Who can take the Permaculture Design CourseThe course is open to everyone! It has been constructed to offer a level playing field to people of various backgrounds and experience. There are no pre-requisites for this course.

Food and lodgingAll meals and lodging are covered in the cost of the trip. Food is organic, farm-grown, and prepared by women from the local community of Pachitulul. A typical lunch includes chicken, a salad, rice, tortillas and fresh lemonade with chia seeds. Vegetarian and vegan options are always available. Purified water is available on-site and used for all meals.

At IMAP you will have the option of staying in a shared guesthouse or to camp on-site, and at Atitlan Organics you will be staying in a newly established eco-hostel. You will have access to a hot shower and clean linen.

TransportationAirfare and transportation to and from Lake Atitlan is not included, but all transportation during the course is covered. This includes back-of-the-pickup rides to farmers’ fields, forest hikes and aquaculture ponds, and a boat ride from San Lucas Tolimán to Tzununa mid-course.

Course Fee Guatemalans: $1,195

International: $1,495

We require a non-refundable deposit of $300 via Paypal.

Note: A 5% Paypal fee will be applied to the balance (not the deposit). You can be pay via wire transfer to avoid the Paypal fee – email us at squdsi1@gmail.com for details.

Sign UpTo register for the PDC, please make a $300 deposit via Paypal.